Daily Archives: December 15, 2011

During the Presidential campaign leading up to the November 2008 elections, after Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) had clinched the Democrat party nomination, he rode an unbelievable wave of popularity across the nation, where some political rallies looked and sounded more like rock concerts.

Buoyed by a complicit mainstream media machine smitten with him, Sen. Obama’s speeches were filled with teleprompter-guided criticisms and prognostications–delivered with a Jon Stewart comedic sarcasm, which made him seem like a combination of Moses, Plato and Nostradamus.

President Bush had deeply declined in the polls, as public dismay with the seemingly endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan grew, inflamed by the daily press skewerings of the Bush administration.

Too many Americans were now very open to a breath of fresh air–and John McCain just wasn’t giving it to them.

So, feeling his oats, I’m certain, Sen. Obama painted a word picture of an almost impossible dream–returning America to a blissful, elegant state, in harmony with fellow Earthlings everywhere…and the Universe, in general. This of course included ending both wars, closing Gitmo, bringing free healthcare to all, and neutralizing the Trojan Horse of destruction called the “Sub-Prime Mortgage” financial crisis that was blooming across the nation and the world.

He even staked his future on it, by declaring he would be a one-term president if he was unable to solve the financial crisis, and the unemployment rate rose above 8 percent–and he was elected President of the United States in a 53 to 46 percent contest, compelling the new First Lady of the land, Michelle Obama to trumpet … “This is the first time I have been truly proud of my country!”

Shortly after that gaffe heard ’round the world, nearly every decision and action that President Barack Hussein Obama took proved to be an abject failure.

Now the time is near for the nation to collect on Barack Obama’s wager.

And, even though Democrats can always count on the electoral votes from the Northeast and West Coast states, politicians on both sides of the aisle understand that it is the Independent “swing state” voters who decide the outcome of our elections–just as they did in the November 2010 trouncing of Democrats all over the country, up and down the political ladder.

In the dozen swing states where voters will decide the 2012 presidential election, a new Gallup/USA Today poll shows President Obama losing to the current Republican frontrunners by significant margins.

Obama trailed Mitt Romney by 5 points, 43 percent to 48 percent and trailed Newt Gingrich by 3 points, 45 percent to 48 percent, in the survey of these 12 battleground states, according to Chris Stirewalt’s FOXNews article from Tuesday.

To break it down, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania all skewed heavily Republican statewide in the November 2010 election cycle; plus, polls and electoral trends suggest the president is unlikely to prevail in Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

This leaves Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio and Virginia as the swingingest of swing states and Obama trailing in electoral votes 245 to 242 with 51 up for grabs.

Since 2008, swing state voters have become 9 percent less Democratic. When Obama won the swing states by 8 points, Democrats boasted an 11-point party identification edge.

Now it’s down to just 2-points…

Instead of receiving “Hope and Change” as promised, people of all political persuasions have been sharing “misery and despair,” piling up emotional and financial baggage in every state of the union, which is causing the ‘Obama Train’ to derail.

It may not be the biggest scandal of the Obama Administration, but the collusion between the Department of the Interior and the Occupy Wall Street movement has caught the attention of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa. This, in turn, has led to some coverage by the media of the illegal takeover of public parks in Washington, D.C., and the damage that has been allowed to occur by top Obama officials.

Issa noted damage to the area known as McPherson Square, where tents have been erected and protesters have been loitering on a constant basis, saying, “As part of the stimulus, the Department of Interior awarded more than $400,000 to…rehabilitate McPherson Square in Northwest Washington…that included new grass, concrete curbs, refurbished benches, new light poles, water fountains, new paint, new chain fencing, 12 new trash cans and new light meters. While the merits of this stimulus funding are debatable, we can all agree that once the federal government invested the funds, no government agency should have allowed it to be damaged or destroyed when it legally could have been prevented.”

The implication is that the Obama Administration enabled the protesters to take over public parks in the nation’s capital and has turned a blind eye to the damage done to these areas. In addition to this physical damage, local businesses and their employees in the area are suffering.

Jim Dinegar, president of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, described the condition of the park on WAMU’s Politics Hour as “a toxic waste dump” that will take years to clean up. This interview, posted on YouTube, included additional biting comments, such as:

“We’re a flash point away from real trouble.”

“Unless someone begins to push back, this will continue to escalate. … ‘Well, you got kicked out of Philly, come on down here. You got kicked out of New York, come on down here.’ No, don’t come down here!”

“This is putting restaurants at risk, tourism at risk.”

“Business is being abused by the occupiers.”

“People are reluctant to go downtown.”

Dinegar made the point that it’s not just businesses that are suffering, but that ordinary workers and employees, such as taxi-cab drivers, waiters, valet parkers, and others are losing money because of the protests.

Back on October 18, we had questioned in a column why the illegal activities of the Occupy movement in Washington, D.C. were ignored by the authorities at the local and federal levels. The tents and food facilities put in place at Freedom Plaza and in McPherson Square were in clear violation of the law.

Issa wants Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, in charge of the National Park Service, to answer 16 questions about his involvement in letting the lawlessness occur. It seems fairly obvious that the political authorities told the police not to interfere.

Nevertheless, the results of the Issa probe could expose the extent to which Obama officials facilitated the illegal actions and how they are working hand-in-glove with the Marxist demonstrators. Obama, of course, has endorsed the protests, and pollster Frank Luntz has said that the sympathetic coverage of the anti-capitalist message from the demonstrations around the country has tended to give the American economic system of free enterprise a bad name.

Our media have depicted the protesters as having a legitimate grievance about American society, without noting that they want something for nothing and have taken over and trashed public properties that do not belong to them.

The Washington Post, which broke the Watergate scandal involving Republican President Richard Nixon, has not treated the activities of the Occupy movement as illegal or improper in any way, even though the protests in Washington, D.C. are only a few blocks from the paper’s Post headquarters. It has shown no interest in probing links between the Occupy movement and President Obama or other top administration officials.

The Post story about Issa’s probe ran under the headline, “Issa challenges Occupy D.C.’s claim to McPherson Square,” as if the Occupy movement’s “claim” was somehow legitimate. It said that Issa cited a federal law “that appears to prohibit camping in the square.”

Appears? Is the Post incapable of looking up the exact wording of the law? As I pointed out in a previous column, the law states, “Temporary structures may not be used outside designated camping areas for living accommodation activities such as sleeping, or making preparations to sleep (including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping), or storing personal belongings, or making any fire, or doing any digging or earth breaking or carrying on cooking activities.”

The Post suggested Issa’s questions were somehow improper, saying that his letter “represents the first direct congressional intervention in the protest on K Street.” Why is it “intervention” when a member of Congress asks the federal government why the law is not being enforced?

The Post then suggested the letter could backfire. “But in a city where skepticism of congressional Republicans runs deep, the letter could help galvanize a movement that is struggling to come up with a plan for sustaining itself through the winter,” it said. This wording was another attempt to play politics and somehow make Republicans look bad, rather than hold the protesters and their political protectors accountable for trashing a public park.

Horace Holmes of WJLA-TV did a story that at least quoted a local resident, Kelly Fiedorek, as saying, “They spent all summer re-sodding and making this park beautiful. They spent taxpayer dollars and now it’s ruined.” Visitors to the area can see this for themselves. But Post reporters, based only a few blocks away, pretend it doesn’t exist.

On top of this outrage, the “progressive” Washington, D.C. Mayor, Vincent C. Gray, wants the federal government to reimburse the District for police overtime costs associated with the Occupy movement.

A Washington Times story admitted the obvious: “Camping is not permitted in the park but U.S. Park Police have largely looked the other way.” The buck stops with Salazar and Obama.

An NBC/Washington story about the Issa letter said, “Camping is prohibited on National Park Service property, but the Park Service has said a ‘24-hour vigil’ is allowed. Issa is asking Salazar to explain the difference.”

So the Obama Administration is trying to claim that the tents are part of a 24-hour vigil that has gone on for weeks? How can such a claim be reported in a straight news story?

If the Obama Administration will lie about things like the trashing of a public park, what about the more serious scandals, such as gun running to Mexican drug cartels?

Issa is to be congratulated for taking on both of these scandals. Merely asking the tough questions that should be asked by the media forces the media to devote some time and attention to covering the high-level law-breaking.

Cliff Kincaid is the Director of the AIM Center for Investigative Journalism, and can be contacted at [email protected].

This January 2012, Join the Belcastro Family as They Prepare for an Independent Life Off the Grid Co-Production Between GBTV and The WorkShop, L.L.C. Whose Team Has Produced Shows For History, ESPN, HGTV, Travel Channel, Lifetime, Discovery Channel and TLC, Among Others

(New York, NY December 13th, 2011) GBTV, Glenn Beck’s live streaming video network unveiled today its first reality show, Independence U.S.A. The show follows Frank Belcastro and his family as they try and become completely independent and prepare for life “off the grid.” Independence U.S.A. is being produced by GBTV and The WorkShop, L.L.C. whose team has produced shows for History, ESPN, ESPN Classic, Animal Planet, HGTV, trutv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, Discovery Channel, TLC, The Golf Channel, and Broadcast Syndication. The show will debut on January 18th 2012 and will air weekly on Wednesdays.

Concerned that the economy could collapse? Or that a natural disaster could wipe out our infrastructure? So is Frank, and he is doing something about it! Believing that America has become too reliant on a crumbling foundation, Frank is preparing his family for life “off the grid,” admiring the way people lived in the 19th century. Like them, he longs to become completely independent. So he is embarking on one project at a time hoping to prepare his family for the worst, such as building a car that runs on wood in case gasoline supplies are interrupted, becoming expert hunters when grocery stores are no longer in existence, and making his own alcohol for barter when the dollar collapses. Frank does it all with determination, intelligence, and good humor. He’ll need all that and more, as he attempts to motivate a family that neither shares his fervor nor wishes to sacrifice the comforts and conveniences of 21st century life. In the series premiere- “A Hunting We Will Go”- we meet the Belcastro’s as they set out on a journey to be a self-sufficient family. Frank wants the family to be able to hunt and kill their own food but not every one is on board. Starting with making their own weapons Frank and his son Adam really learn an appreciation for the hunt but wonder if they will succeed.

Joel Cheatwood, President of Programming at GBTV said: “Independence U.S.A. is the perfect way for GBTV to enter the reality genre and promises to be an entertaining and informative look at how one family tries to grapple with their concerns for America.”

Frank Belcastro said: “This show, for me, is a fun and sometimes funny way to get people to open their eyes and see what’s going on. Americans are so reliant on the infrastructure around them but when you can create something with your own hands and everybody works as a team, everybody does a part, you can focus on the positive of this. You can spend time with your family and your community.”

This announcement follows the recent news that GBTV signed a deal with Icebox, the innovative animation production company to jointly develop an animated comedy series. Since its launch, GBTV has already added a wide range of original programming including Liberty Tree House and the comedy news show The B.S. of A. GBTV features Glenn’s two-hour show, which is broadcast live weekdays from 5 to 7PM ET from a newly-built set designed by Glenn and his team at the iconic NEP Studios in Midtown Manhattan. The show, which will be moving to Dallas next year, features Glenn’s unique fusion of entertainment and enlightenment and includes contributors like Amy Holmes, Will Cain, S.E. Cupp and Raj Nair.

Learn More About The Belcastro Family:

Frank Belcastro
“The Man with the Plan”
A carpenter by trade, Frank’s not afraid to experiment in order to get his family one step closer to self-sufficiency but will he succeed? No idea is too big for Frank and he always sees them through. His family doesn’t always agree with him, but they’re always on his side.

Kim Belcastro
“The Skeptic”
Reluctant to accept change and always afraid of what she’s going to come home and find, Kim is always there to question Frank’s ideas. Afterall, it’s her house too and when you bring Frank’s ideas to life anything can happen!

Adam Belcastro
“The Wingman”
The youngest of the family, Adam is a local fire chief and Frank’s right hand man. No matter how crazy Frank’s idea is Adam is ready and willing to try it. Together this Father-Son team is unstoppable.

Emma Belcastro
“The Realist”
Emma is so comfortable in modern society that she doesn’t always see the point in her dad’s plans. She is always there to give Frank a hard time but at the end of the day she believes he has their best interest at heart.

About Mercury Radio Arts

Mercury Radio Arts is Glenn Beck’s fully integrated multi-media production company. Mercury produces all Glenn Beck related properties including The Glenn Beck Program, America’s third highest-rated radio show, Beck’s New York Times bestselling books, and his live stage-show business.

Mercury’s digital platforms now include GlennBeck.com, the fan portal; GBTV, the live streaming video network; Markdown.com, the e-commerce site for connecting consumers with valuable discounts; and TheBlaze.com, the News & Information network.

Founded in 2002, Mercury has a full time staff of over 100 employees and is based in New York, NY.

About The Workshop, L.L.C.

The WorkShop, L.L.C. is an independently owned production company that specializes in creating high quality professional content. Whether The WorkShop is producing a broadcast television series or a broadband “webisode” series, each client is guaranteed to work with our award winning team of professionals. This multimedia service approach allows our client to choose the distribution platform for their project and have it executed in a way that best suits their consumers. The management team at The WorkShop has produced shows for The Golf Channel, History, ESPN, ESPN Classic, Animal Planet, HGTV, trutv, Travel Channel, Lifetime, Discovery Channel, TLC, and Broadcast Syndication.